I recently purchased this as a very small portable camera to have available easily and to serve as a backup camera. I can compare it directly to the SD 550 and SD 750 Canons which I also own (though the 550 now has been handed down to my 7 year old daughter), as well as the Rebel XSI. The SD 750 is an excellent camera which has served our family well, so why you ask did I buy the Canon SD1200IS? I purchased this primarily for two reasons which may also apply to you. Firstly, the IS feature allows much-more-watchable video and secondly, the battery is the same type that is used by my Canon D10 (waterproof camera) – this is very helpful in terms of carrying around fewer bulky chargers. The relatively-low price for a camera of this quality was also a factor.

I was concerned a bit about buying this camera as some reviews here noted blurry shots, with some later reviews noting that camera came set to low resolution. As for my unit, it came set to highest resolution (as did the SD 550 and SD 750 to my recollection). I wonder if some of the reviewers somehow got a refurbished model since as far as I can tell the camera firmware comes automatically set to highest resolution for Canon cameras in general.

To check photo quality, I have made a direct comparison between the SD 750 and Canon SD1200IS by taking identical shots of what passes for me as a ‘still life’ – some toys on a couch with detailed pattern in semi-dark conditions requiring flash. Zooming in closely on those shots, it appears that the flash is a little brighter on the Canon SD1200IS but otherwise detail is identical. As the SD 750 is a 7.1 MP camera and this one is 10 MP, one might expect (understandably) higher resolution from this camera but this ends up being an excellent illustration of the “megapixel myth.”

Though companies have latched onto increasing megapixels as a marketing thing there is really diminishing returns as one goes up due to other limitations, notably sensor noise and especially limits imposed by the optics. You can’t get blood from a stone and you also can’t get increasingly higher-resolution images from the small lenses on cameras like this one. That is not to say the images are bad, just that they don’t compare to DSLR images from say a Canon Rebel XSI or a Nikon D300 – but this is certainly not a criticism as this camera is not intended as a substitute for a DSLR.

Video quality is similar to that on my SD 750 though the IS does definitely improve the stability of the shots and should allow them to be better mixed into footage from a dedicated video camera. It is interesting that though one may never intend to use this type of camera for video inevitably the time will come when this is all that is available, and in fact with kids that happens pretty frequently! The best camera for the shot or video is, of course, the one you actually have with you at the time!

The camera controls will seem second-nature if you have used Canons in the past. The door to the battery/SD compartment does seem a bit more flimsy than my prior models but is working well so far.

In summary, this is a very portable compact camera that does the job of serving as an always-available camera and also can serve as backup to a DLSR or other higher-quality camera. I am very pleased with the purchase and would highly recommend this camera. (Please be aware that in late February 2010 it is very likely that new models will be announced at a large trade show)


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